Fleur McDonald is one of Australia’s leading rural literature authors, with her books becoming best sellers almost as quickly as they hit the shelves. Having sold over 500,000 copies of her books, she has solidified her position as one of the country’s favourite storytellers.

What it takes to write a book

  I’m often asked what it takes to write a book. Having finished my 19th novel about twelve hours ago, I reflected on the question, whilst sitting on the patio with a wine, screaming: ‘thank god that’s done!’ So, I compiled a list. A workable laptop. Not one that dies with only copy of your…

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The warmth of Nana’s kitchen

Have you got long lasting memories of hanging out in your grandma’s kitchen? I sure do. My Nana H was the best cook – some of her specialties were chocolate chip biscuits, sponge cake, trifle and bread rolls made from scratch. In fact she taught me how to make bread from scratch and I still…

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Where the magic happens…

I’m often asked what my office looks like. Usually it’s too messy for me to take a photo – I’ll have research and papers all over my desk so it’s all at my fingertips as I write. But when I started the new novel (tentatively called Swindler’s List!) I tidied the desk and took a…

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Musings from a writer

This morning, when I woke up my first thought was about writing. (Actually it was about coffee, then writing). I needed to write in my journal, I needed to write my next book. With that in mind, I made that coffee and went onto the back verandah to get my morning outside fix, then went…

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Oops!

Hi Everyone, We’ve recently been made aware that there’s been a few binding problems within the pages of The Shearer’s Wife. These will be very few, but if you’ve bought a book like this, please make sure you let me know (you can email me here). We’ll get your book replaced. So sorry, if you’ve…

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In with old…

Check out this beauty! I was lucky enough to be given it by a friend yesterday. I’ve fallen in love with the old keys and noise they make. We think the white paint on there is whiteout. Does anyone have any ideas on how I could clean that off? I wonder how many stories have…

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New things afoot for Fleur

Yes, you read that correctly! There are new things afoot for me during 2021. BUT! First, before I talk about that, Booktopia, the WONDERFUL people over at Booktopia are searching for the Booktopia Favourite Australian Book… which turns into an award. I was lucky enough to have The Shearer’s Wife nominated and I’d love it,…

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Those new pages feels

Happy New Year everyone! Three days in already. Have you started to reassess your life; write down those new year resolutions? I have – although I don’t know why, because I never seem to stick to the for any length of time! And they’re always the same ones; health, fitness, weight loss. Organisation! Creatives seem…

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The looming 2021

How was your Christmas? I hope you had a special day. Scrolling through Facebook, it does look as if many of you did. It’s nice seeing the happy family photos and what people are doing during their Christmas break. This time of year is really hard for some people – I know. I’m one of…

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My books and music for 2020

Well, what a year, huh? Who would have though that the words ‘unprecedented’, ‘Covid normal’, Self-isolation’, ‘social distancing’, ‘Black Lives Matter’, and ‘Karen’ would have made their way into our everyday language? That the news would be full of Corona Virus information, forsaking all other news! That Zoom would have become part of our ‘norm’.…

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The NEW Detective Dave book

Oh my gosh! So many questions as to whether there is going to be a sequel to Red Dirt Country! Did you really think I’d leave you hanging to see what Bulldust did next? Well, in case you did, fear not! The answer is yes. Something to Hide will be published on the 30th March…

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My friend, Anxiety

I’ve always told my kids that “if we don’t share our stories, then how can we help people?” That’s why they don’t mind me talking about the challenges they live with; they embrace them and are what makes them who they are (that doesn’t take away, they’ve had extra challenges to deal with and hard…

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A rather personal post

I’ve got quite a personal post, today. A post about anxiety, heartache, discovery and in the end, immense satisfaction. Today is International Day of Disabled People. I have two children with disabilities – although as a great friend pointed out to me the other day: ‘I don’t think of your kids as disabled.’ Nothing more…

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All about Detective Dave Burrows

I just love the love we all have for Detective Dave Burrows. The amount of emails and questions I get about him are amazing. The most asked question is: what order does he appear in the books. Well, let me put that to rest, with this post. Dave came into being when I wrote my…

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Another novel

  I love the ‘new feels’ of starting a new book. It’s exciting, fun and the possibilities are endless. Trouble is, those feelings don’t always hang around. I find I get to about 20,000 words in and get a bit stuck. Those first 20,000 come with a rush of adrenalin and enthusiasm. The next 50,000…

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